Ali C

im not convinced, personally I always tie my shoes as tight as I can because I can’t stand any movement of my feet inside my shoe/on my pedal. I feel a floating pedal might feel similar to a less-tight shoe and take away some of the feel and feedback

I’ve dabbled with brakeless nose manuals but never got them dialled. My front wheel action is purely a stoppie

I’ve recently been doing some more diy adaptors, these were made with a drill, hacksaw and file and I like the idea of the adaptor extending down the inside of the mounts…this way it’s slightly braced against the frame taking a tiny bit of pressure off the bolts (in theory at least) but it also adds a lot of strength and stiffness in a high stress area (I hope). gonna speak with someone about bringing these to market IMG_8673.mov IMG_8623.dng IMG_8624.dng

Can’t comment directly about your case but I also had a wheel with a similar issue recently. I was fixing a wheel with a snapped hub flange, got a new hub and spokes and had planned on reusing the alloy nipples…weirdly they would thread in by hand the first few turns but just bind up after that…I tried forcing one but it actually snapped the spoke! I wasn’t aware spoke threads came in different pitches but that’s the only explanation I can think of. So yeah, best avoid forcing things, using the sapim nipples would be best but I can’t advise it that work with your rim or not (if it was my wheel I’d try it but its a tricky one when it’s someone else’s).

My turbolito tube lasted 20 mins the valve randomly snapped…maybe there was some twisting forces going on or something…if they do a metal one then that’s what I’d go for

I spent ages looking at different vans even doing polls on social media…I was expecting one model to come out on top but surprisingly there was equal amount of love and horror stories for the Transporter, Custom and Trafic. In the end I went for a Trafic as they’re galvanized so should resist rusting, have dependable engines and a decent loading area. I don’t think they’re the best looking but they are a lot cheaper than VWs. I’ve literally just had mine converted by The Ply Guys (I’m still sat in their office) and couldn’t be happier with the results. IMG_7738.dng IMG_7739.dng

I think we’re quite far apart in what our expectations and execution are for this concept

I’m talking about having the rear triangle acting like a spring when compressed, something along the lines of a leaf spring like the Lauf concepts (but obviously in a trials shape), you’d have it so stiff you wouldn’t notice it when hopping normally but when preloading it would be possible to compress it and use the rebound to hop higher. The Crewkerz looks like it has one of the stiffest rear triangles out there!

My 2 cents. ebikes: I can’t see this being a thing for comp style trials, maybe better suited to oldschool hill climbs but the extra weight would hinder the size of moves more than the advantage of extra power would help them in my opinion. disc brakes: never gonna happen for 26” comp trials, the extra weight, exposed fragile disc and spoke flex are way more of a handicap than the occasional rim grind. geo: not too sure if we’ll see that much change here but I am curious to test a frame with a much steeper head angle than current bikes have and combined it with a short stem (kinda like your idea but keep the wheelbase the same). Longer wheelbases might help with a couple of moves but it would compromise others, current wheelbase measurements are a decent middle ground. I do think having a shorter stem could make things like hanging hooks easier though as there’s less leverage in the stem wanting to twist whilst your weight is on it. Current bikes with their long stems put the bars so far out in front the bikes effectively have a 90 degree head angle anyway. tech: the biggest advancement I can see helping with comp trials is utilizing flex in frames to act like a spring and increasing height of moves. Frames are like pole vaulting with a stiff pole, imagine if you could preload the frame like you do with your tyre (and a pole in vaulting) and use that energy in a gap or sidehop…I’ve absolutely no doubt this will be the future but it’ll take a lot of cost and development to make it work

It would need a slight revision before it’s ready to be used fully, I think I can’t get these to work but it wouldn’t be possible to sell them as-is

Another vote for making your own, I made some with nothing more than a hacksaw, vice, drill and tap. i tried a few designs and even 3D printed some other ideas until I found one that seemed to work really well. The shape wasn’t ideal to machine though so Euan Beadon helped adjust the design slightly and then machined a batch for me (thanks Euan!), annoyingly even though everything worked well in the 3D print there were some clearance issues with the alloy ones, a spacer under the post would fix it but I haven’t gotten round to doing that yet.

Shimano calipers definitely seem to be some of the weakest out there, Magura, Hope and Hayes are stronger.

I use the original V1 and have had zero issues 👍🏻

I'll be there, might have a new bike to try out too

Welcome! Not a bad bike to start on and you're never too old to benefit from starting trials. So obviously there are other brakes that are more popular for trials (disc for street, hydro rim for comps) but a well set up V-brake can compete (and sometimes be better (my brake of choice for comps is a V-Brake)) with the best. The first thing I notice is you're using standard pads on a smooth rim. This is great for modulation and is quiet but will reduce bite. You have two options that will really help get the bite you're looking for: 1) Upgrade the pads to something with more grip on smooth rims. Many brands make suitable pads and they are often the same thing just repackaged. https://www.tartybikes.co.uk/vbrake_pads/jitsie_vpads/c84p10009.html?pos=500&search_params=YTo4OntzOjg6ImluX3N0b2NrIjtpOjA7czoxMjoiY2F0ZWdvcnlfaWRzIjthOjE6e2k6MDtzOjI6Ijg0Ijt9czoxNjoiY2F0ZWdvcnlfcmVjdXJzZSI7YjoxO3M6ODoia2V5d29yZHMiO3M6MDoiIjtzOjk6ImJyYW5kX2lkcyI7TjtzOjQ6Im1vZGUiO3M6MzoiYWxsIjtzOjQ6InNvcnQiO3M6OToicHJpY2VfYXNjIjtzOjEwOiJjb3VudHJ5X2lkIjtzOjE6IjEiO30%3D Those pads on a clean rim will have a LOT more bite but at the cost of being pretty noisy and poor wet weather performance. 2) Upgrade the pads AND grid the rim. This will have a similar effect as above but will work in all weather conditions. The pads will be a harder compound so have an added bonus of making the brake firmer. https://www.tartybikes.co.uk/vbrake_pads/tnn_engineering_lgv/c84p11243.html?pos=895&search_params=YTo4OntzOjg6ImluX3N0b2NrIjtpOjA7czoxMjoiY2F0ZWdvcnlfaWRzIjthOjE6e2k6MDtzOjI6Ijg0Ijt9czoxNjoiY2F0ZWdvcnlfcmVjdXJzZSI7YjoxO3M6ODoia2V5d29yZHMiO3M6MDoiIjtzOjk6ImJyYW5kX2lkcyI7TjtzOjQ6Im1vZGUiO3M6MzoiYWxsIjtzOjQ6InNvcnQiO3M6OToicHJpY2VfYXNjIjtzOjEwOiJjb3VudHJ5X2lkIjtzOjE6IjEiO30%3D There is more cost and labour involved as you will have to grind the rim to give a rough texture (video here... ) but this will give the most reliable bite and overall performance but again will be pretty noisy. The other things that would help would be a brake booster to stop the arms splaying out and to make sure you have the best cable possible...I recommend the Shimano SP5 outer from Tartybikes with a squoosh of GT85 through it https://www.tartybikes.co.uk/disc_brake_spares/shimano_sp51_outer_cable/c110p11637.html?pos=1600&search_params=YTo4OntzOjg6ImluX3N0b2NrIjtpOjA7czoxMjoiY2F0ZWdvcnlfaWRzIjthOjE6e2k6MDtzOjM6IjU5NyI7fXM6MTY6ImNhdGVnb3J5X3JlY3Vyc2UiO2I6MTtzOjg6ImtleXdvcmRzIjtzOjA6IiI7czo5OiJicmFuZF9pZHMiO047czo0OiJtb2RlIjtzOjM6ImFsbCI7czo0OiJzb3J0IjtzOjk6InByaWNlX2FzYyI7czoxMDoiY291bnRyeV9pZCI7czoxOiIxIjt9 Any or all of those should make a big difference

ripping on the sidewall? I stopped using Cushcore after my Conti tyre got cut on the sidewall. I feel the Cushcore pushed on the sidewall too much and either weakened them or made them more pronounced and more likely to make contact with objects. Since switching to a Rimpact insert I haven't had any issues

I disagree. It's common for the cups on internal headsets to also have a chamfer, I'm 99% sure that frame just takes a standard 1 1/8th internal headset

Definitely an internal headset (push in cups). I can see how the angled shape might be confusing but integrated headsets are fairly rare in trials and this is an old frame brought out before integrated was as common in the MTB world.

That’s a great review thank you! Glad you enjoyed it, we certainly had fun :)

With how easily they break I'll keep on calling it plastic

Glad to see you wanting to get into trials and get a dedicated bike! Firstly, yes things can be confusing with trials parts as often they can be standards specific to trials and nothing else (19" rims, front freewheels, rim brakes, snail cams etc) but as you're finding the trials community is happy to help...I'd also recommend Tartybikes for both parts and for answering questions as they have great knowledge and will bend over backwards to help. I also find them to be the best supplier of spokes and spoke length calculations. As for the frame you've bought, that's an older Onza T-pro from the mid 2000s therefore it has a lot of the older standards. I can confirm it is meant for a straight 1 1/8th fork (but can't confirm whether a tapered one would fit with a Hope "H" lower cup as that's dependant on the inner diameter of the headtube and whether it is wide enough to clear the wider taper of a fork...best just to source a 1 18th fork to be safe). I believe the rear end is 116mm to be run with snail cams. The "standard" gear ratio to be run on that bike is 18T in the front and 12T in the rear. When you say you've bought a HS33 without a lever, what are your plans? You mention you like Shimano or Formula levers so I'm not sure if you are planning to run these on the HS33 cylinders but if so I will jump in and say they're not compatible! Hs33 levers have a much bigger piston compared with disc brake levers (14mm compared with 9mm) so a disc lever will push much less fluid and be extremely spongy. You will need to run a HS33 lever or a trials specific brand instead...fortunately the trials specific ones aren't made of plastic. As for a carbon front hub, it's possible you could get away with running something super light but also bare in mind that new riders are often some of the most harsh on bike parts as they haven't found the finesse that comes with years of practice, it's likely you will be landing drops a bit heavy to begin with or even crashing/letting the bike drop etc. I've leave it up to you if that's something you want to go ahead with. The last thing I'll say just now is that you should prepare for the finished bike to feel REALLY weird! I often advise riders coming from a MTB or road background to go for a bigger wheel size as it'll feel less alien. In fact, I usually advise people to not even get a trials bike as their first bike, building up or adapting a small framed MTB or DJ bike is an excellent way to get into trials. I've been riding trials for 25 years and I can't stand riding 20" trials bikes as they just feel so odd! But that's just me and plenty of people have built 20" bikes as their first trials bike with no issues so don't let me put you off your build, it's just something to consider if the bike feels a bit too alien once it's done.

Tubeless and inserts

Some will know that I sold my MX5 (sad) to get a van…well today I picked up my new whip…a 2015 Renault Trafic. Being honest it wasn’t really my first choice of van as I thought the Transit Custom was much better looking but after dozens and dozens of comments from people on social media I ended up going for the Renault due to supposedly having better fuel efficiency and engine reliability. I also heard the Transits are extremely easy to break into which isn’t ideal if I’m potentially going to have bikes in the back. I’ve only driven it a few miles home but it seems really nice, bought from a local family owned business (guy used to race Downhill he said) and comes with a years warranty which gives some peace of mind. I also got insured with Brentacre who will cover me no matter what camper mods I end up doing for no extra cost.

I always avoid using disc brake cleaning products on my brakes…any time I’ve ever used them it’s ruined the bite. If this was me I’d get a blowtorch and burn off whatever is on the pads and then give the rotor a little blast too (not too much though, just to evaporate whatever might be on it). I’ve done this with some pretty contaminated pads and had them completely transformed. If that doesn’t work then get new pads and don’t use anything other than clean water

sold my MX5 I loved that car but not having something more practical is holding me back plus I fear with me not keeping it covered I'm just letting it rust. Sad to see it go though